Maple Leafs Prospect Report: September Round Up

First, I want to make apologies. I meant to have a weekly prospect report already started, since Toronto's European prospects have been active for a full month by now. I feel especially bad because I ran the GoFundMe to make my life easier writing these, and then my activity just disappeared.

To TL;DR the shit show that my last month+ has been, I've been dealing with hospital trips and medical testing very late into the night or very early in the morning, multiple computer problems that have had me running to and from Canada Computers more than once a week for over a month, and a shitshow at with multiple major projects happening all at the same time right after an important co-worker left for a new job.

BUT! That's finally over and done with. I have a working computer again. All those major work issues are done. So it's time for me to get caught up. I don't have time yet to write the full kind of profile I'd want to, so for now I'll just get caught up on what I've been able to watch over this weekend and what I can tell from highlights and boxscore watching for the rest.

Tinus Luc Koblar

By far the most exciting development when it comes to any Toronto prospect has been how Koblar has been given an extended run in the SHL already. I'm not talking about when a guy is dressed as an extra forward but either doesn't get a single second of ice time, or he gets like two shifts for no more than one minute. I'm talking, Koblar has played in five straight games for Leksands on their third line, and the last two have been as the 3C. The least he's played was his first game, when he had 9:56, but every game has been over 10 minutes since then – including 16:13 in his first game at center.

I'm still catching up on watching the games I've been able to record, though they're not the cleanest because of the aforementioned shitty Chromebook, but other parts I watched on my phone. He's not been a star or dominant, but he's shown he belongs in the SHL. He's a handful to deal with, physically, even Playing Against Men(TM) as an 18 year old. He scored in his first game, off a nice rush and a nicer shot. I've seen him create some good chances for his linemates with nice plays that they just couldn't score off of, and I've seen him draw penalties from some very nice cycle work along the boards.

Koblar in the SHL reminds me of how Cowan looked against NHLers this pre-season. He looks like he belongs, but he's not yet at a level to be a top player. He can work as a third liner, but he has some things to improve still. For Koblar, there are two things I think will help the most: first, improving his quickness and acceleration in terms of explosiveness will help him a lot. His top speed is more than good enough, but he sometimes starts a race at a step behind. The other thing is what I said in his draft profile – he still needs to learn how to finish off his offensive plays. That means improving his shot, polishing off his passing with more velocity and accuracy even if it's already pretty good, and being more consistent with his decision making in terms of when to deke and when to get rid of it.

Victor Johansson

In less good and more very confusing news, Victor Johansson apparently just disappeared from the world. He's played in two junior games to start the season, and dressed without playing for the SHL team once. After that, he was loaned to a team in the Allsvenskan league – Sweden's second tier men's pro league – but despite that he has not played or dressed in a single game at any league, for any team, at all. The last time he made any appearance was a September 14th junior game where he scored twice. Since then... nothing.

It's all the more confusing because at the very least he could be playing junior games. The loan that hasn't mean anything at all is confusing, and there was an article that Cathy found saying he was practicing but his status was up in the air because of potential needs from the SHL team from injuries and suspensions. And since then, his older brother on the SHL team was injured, so you'd think there was more of an opportunity for him there. His dad in a GM of the team, and by all accounts they really liked him during the SHL pre-season.

At this point, I have two tin-foil hat theories. Or, I have one and I'm stealing another one. Mine is that he's been hurt but just no one has reported it because it happened off ice or something. The one I stole is that Leksands is a team in dire financial straits, the loan to the Allsvenskan team was a legit thing they thought was best, but the Leafs hear of this and they pipe up saying... what if we brought him to the AHL or what if he gets loaned to a CHL team? They'd have to sign him to an ELC if it's the AHL, and could financially negotiate with Leksands to allow it but hey they could use the cash...

I don't actually care what the reason is, but I was so hyped for him coming into the season I just want to see him play somewhere.

Tyler Hopkins

Hopkins impressed me with his play in the rookie tournament against the Baby Sens and Baby Habs, and that's continued since being returned to Kingston in the OHL. He's been their clear 1C, playing on their top powerplay unit and being used a lot on the penalty kill. He's averaging almost four shots and over 20 faceoffs per game – he's being used a lot, and is performing.

Hopkins' 4 points in 4 games is a bit modest so far, but he's getting his chances and setting them up for his teammates. He's showing some versatility as an offensive player too – he can use his speed to create off the rush, and he's showing a much improved shot as a legitimate threat compared to last year. I've seen enough already from his off-puck and defensive play to know he's far along in those areas. My biggest question was if his offense could improve enough that I can more realistically project him to be a viable as a bottom six forward in the long term. So far this season, I'm liking what I'm seeing. He won't be an offensive star setting records like Cowan, but I'm hoping to see more of an offensive impact like Minten did in junior – and I think he's shown some early signs that he can do it.

Harry Nansi

Nansi was, along with Koblar, my two favourite draft picks Toronto made this year, mostly because I was already big fans of theirs going into the draft. One thing I said about Nansi was that he already showed a lot of impact on the ice for his team, he generate a high percentage of shot assists with linemates who couldn't create much offense without him and who weren't any better at finishing offensive chances set up for them. He also got basically no power play time.

So far this year, Nansi looked like one of the better forwards on the Baby Leafs playing against the Baby Habs in the rookie tournament. And since being returned to Owen Sound in the OHL, he's tied for the team lead in points with 7 in just 5 games. A big reason for that? Just being given time on the powerplay, where five of his seven points have come. His combination of smarts, skill, size and timing are able to really shine in a set offense in the offensive zone, where his wonky skating is not nearly as much of an issue.

While Nansi's skating definitely needs improvement still, it does look better than last year. It still looks funky, but his acceleration and speed are more noticeable, and he's not as easy to knock off balance in spite of his size. I said it before, but the more he improves his skating all around (acceleration, speed, balance) the more his strengths will be unlocked at higher levels. This is true for pretty much all prospects, but it's especially true for him with his style of play.

Miroslav Holinka

Holinka is another guy that looked impressive at the rookie tournament. He didn't start playing that big a role, but after injuries and other guys kind of sucking, he was the guy bumped up the lineup even if it was on the wing instead of at center. But even against older players and guys drafted much higher than he was, I thought Holinka looked like one of Toronto's more consistently effective players. I think it's noteworthy that he was not cut from the Leafs' training camp with the initial junior group, he stayed with the team for almost a week after that. And, like with Hopkins, he's carried that over to the CHL since being loaned back to Edmonton.

On the Oil Kings, Holinka has been listed on the "second" line. I put it in quotes because I think him and his line have been playing a lot more. It helps that he gets a top role in all situations – top powerplay, one of the go-to centers for the penalty kill, top even strength time. Of all the centers on the team, Holinka averages the most faceoffs per game (15) in the three games he's played since. He also has the most points per game. The only reason he isn't leading the team in totals for those categories is because he's only played in three games, where everyone else has played in five or six.

What he does lead the team in, is goals. He's scored in all three games he's played, with four in total. He's scored on the powerplay with a bomb of a one-timer. He's scored short-handed with his good defense creating a turnover and breakaway for himself. He's scored at even strength off the rush. He's showing more of his versatile offensive ability, while not sacrificing defensively. If his skating was better, I'd say he reminds me quite a lot of Fraser Minten in terms of his shot, two-way play as a center, and strong overall impact despite not having the point totals of junior stars.

Notes on the Others

I'll just rapid fire the rest.

• Alexander Plesovskikh – His enigma status continues, with four multi-point games (11 of his 12 points came in those 4 games) where he looks dominant in junior but then also five games where he's held without a point, doesn't have many shots, is a minus player, and coach reduces his ice time because (I assume) he's not playing well. I still don't really have a firm grasp on him, but I'm starting to realize he's just too inconsistent as a player to be considered that good.
• Timofei Obvintsev – After pulling a Johansson last year and disappearing for the second half of the season, he emerged on a new team in Russia's VHL league as the main backup. He's played in relief of the starter in one game, then played the full next game, and that's it because of how good their main goalie has been. Still, he looked good in the four periods he's played in, stopping 31 of the 34 shots he's faced with some tough saves mixed in. Hoping he can get more regular playing time.

• Sam McCue – I thought he really stood out in a bad way in the rookie tournament with subpar skating and very little ability to impact the play. He seems like a junior goal scorer and that's it. Since being returned to junior, he was given a top line role on one of the best teams in the OHL and hasn't done much with it, with just one goal in four games.
• Rylan Fellinger – If he's going to be anything he'll be a long-term project, so I don't take much from four OHL games that I haven't had time to watch at all yet. He has no points in four games, but is only one of two players on the team who isn't an overall minus. Take that how you will.
• Matthew Hlacar – He's only been played in two games since being returned to junior, with no points, no shots on net, and 8 penalty minutes. He is what he is.
• Nathan Mayes – Another guy I want to watch more of after he seemed like one of the more intriguing late round large adult sons. He has no points in three games, and I don't have anything more to add yet.
• Hudson Malinoski – The NCAA season started this past weekend, with most of the top college teams warming up against some of the weakest schools in the league. He was their top line center and had a goal, a primary assist, three shots on net and won 13 of 16 faceoffs.

• Nick Moldenhauer – Badly needing a bounce back year, Moldenhauer played on the second line for Michigan in their opening two game series. He scored in the first game and had 7 shots between both games, but Michigan outscored the other team 18-1 in the two games... considering how much better many of his teammates looked he didn't seem to stand out more. We'll see if that's true against better teams, but I'm not holding my breath at this point.
• Matthew Lahey – Didn't even dress for his team in their opener.
• William Belle – His season doesn't start until this coming weekend.
• Joe Miller – Harvard's conference starts their season like a full month later than all the others.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, a lot of I reinvest back into my prospect work through in those streaming and scouting services. Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!